À la recherche de Debra Winger

The cast of this film is all women, mostly mature actresses, over 40 years old where Hollywood sees them as grandmothers. Despite the fact that they look great, they reach an age in the business where they are not considered at all and turned down for parts. Hollywood's biggest problem in this industry is the lack of roles about mature women by mature women for mature women audiences. I could see the frustration of having former leading ladies being turned into grandmothers before their time or put out to pasture. They still want to work and have a family if that is there goal. But working in this business is tough enough, you can win Academy Awards like Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave and still be auditioning for roles. The gender gap in Hollywood is quite fierce where the women must be attractive and talent is secondary. Also the roles in the films are quite fierce for women. Yes, this documentary is a feminist but still female as well. This documentary shows how far behind Hollywood is in establishing equality for women in the business.

I actually just read about this documentary in Entertainment Weekly, so was surprised to see it on Showtime tonight. I was ready to slam it for being shallow, but was pleasantly surprised at its refreshing insights.

Rosanna Arquette directs this documentary about the role of women in Hollywood when they are no longer a starlet; the effects of age on the actress' career. What was most impressive about the documentary was the incredible number of actresses interviewed. From Sharon Stone to Martha Plimpton, Holly Hunter to Charlotte Rampling the many actresses (both fairly obscure and mainstream) express some interesting views without sounding like they are complaining about the `lack of strong roles for women' – a phrase that has become cliché. While I am not a fan of Salma Hayek in the least, she came across as very strong, voicing the need for female writers, directors, etc. (and backed up her word by doing that with Frida.)

Arquette's earthy style made the documentary flow very smoothly, and it was refreshing to see no pretensions. On many occasions, she very humbly expressed her adoration and respect for her subjects. She also put many of her interviewees together in groups which not only opened up the dialogue, but showed genuine camaraderie. Even Roger Ebert makes an appearance discussing how the movie going men tastes in movies have changed.

The one complaint I have is that I never really followed Arquette's vision. After listening to the amazing insights provided by actresses, I didn't see a clear correlation with the thesis.

Definitely worth a look, but definitely estrogen-laden so it may not be for all. But for someone who generally leans towards the `anti-Meg Ryan' films this was indeed interesting and thought provoking.

--Shelly

I applaud Rosanna Arquestte for approaching these topics and find it interesting to see these actresses as themselves. However, I find myself shaking my head at most of their responses to balancing their careers and motherhood. It is like they have never heard this discussion before, and that they are unique in finding themselves facing this problem. Many woman - and many men who are primary caregivers - are faced with this agonizing dilemma. It is extremely difficult to be both a mother and be passionate about your chosen career. The big difference between these actresses and most women is that most of us can't afford qualified help (such as a nanny) to help ease the burden.

A far more interesting question, which arose out of the interviews, was asking why there are so few roles for women over 40, and why women in Hollywood need to be attractive but men do not.

Roseanne Arquette's personal documentary has a really great idea: several dozen top Hollywood actresses from the 70's, 80's and 90's discuss the difficulties facing women in Hollywood, particularly women over the age of forty. Interviewing them one-on-one or gathering them together in discussion groups, Arquette elicits refreshingly frank, unsanitized criticisms and confessions from some of Hollywood's outstanding actresses and beauties: Jane Fonda, Holly Hunter, Daryl Hannah, Salma Hayak, Angelica Huston, Meg Ryan, Sharon Stone, and many others including Debra Winger (who looks fabulous). The title takes its name from the idea that Winger chose to leave Hollywood at the height of her career in the 80's (though a quick check on IMDb.com shows that the actress has actually worked continuously since then.)

Roger Ebert provides a plausible - though unchallenged - explanation for the lack of good roles for women in their 40's. The audience, he explains, is thought to be comprised of young men 14-24 years old who are disinterested in films about women who might be the age of their mothers. Salma Hayak proposes a solution: she suggests that it will take powerful Hollywood women - like the ones interviewed in this documentary - to create more interesting opportunities for mature women in film.

The lack of meaningful roles for women, particularly mature women is a worthwhile subject and naturally has implications far beyond Hollywood; but Arquette's inquiry is disappointingly shallow. The documentary neglects the broader issues of our obsession with youth and beauty and women's role in society focusing exclusively on the impact of aging on Hollywood stars. (The choppy, MTV editing style and amateurish camera-work don't do a lot to elevate the topic either. But those are minor annoyances.)

At its worst, the film disintegrates into a kind of group kvetch for the over privileged. And watching these beautiful, wealthy women preen in front of paparazzi, compare jewellery, schedule dinner dates and party plans then complain that they don't have enough time to spend with their kids, well, it's kinda hard to feel a ton of sympathy....unless you, too, just happen to be a gorgeous, wealthy forty year old movie star. The irony is there for all to see but is never acknowledged: most of these actresses have clearly benefitted from the system they're now deploring; in their twenties, weren't these actresses eclipsing the previous, aging generation? So the laments come off as self-serving.

Despite these disappointments, SFDW is worth a look for its candid interviews. Debra Winger, Whoopi Goldberg and Jane Fonda are particularly good. Recommend.

Age is an actress worst nightmare, or so it appears to be the case that Rosanna Arquette explores in her interesting documentary "Searching for Debra Winger". In fact, most actresses working in movies seem to have a sort of "shelf life" while they are young and beautiful, then, after that, it's oblivion, at best.

As Martha Plimpton points out, most actors working in films have a lot more options than actresses. Jack Nicholson and others of his age group, still active, are the examples. For every Meryl Streep, there are a hundred Debra Wingers that could still be working in meaningful projects, yet, little work seems to come their way, unless they look toward movies made for television.

Rosanna Arquette has a sharp eye to delve into the subject and her choice of people she interviews for us is quite remarkable. Unfortunately, Hollywood always will make films for a younger audience. Maturity and acting abilities seem not to matter much in that factory of dreams.